Man killed mum and girl

A man has admitted to killing a mother and her two-year-old daughter and burying their bodies under his kitchen floor but denies murder.

Andrew Innes, 52, is accused of murdering Bennylyn Burke, 25, and her toddler daughter Jellica Burke, at a home in Dundee in 2021.

In the joint minutes of agreed evidence, The High Court in Edinburgh heard he met Ms. Burke on an online dating app and drove her from Bristol to Dundee on February 18, 2021.

Inne admits killing them both but denies murder, claiming diminished responsibility.

It was accepted Innes stabbed Ms. Burke and hit her head with a knife handle and a hammer and asphyxiated Jellica, before hiding their bodies under the floor.

Bennylyn Burke met Innes on a dating app 

He is additionally accused of sexually assaulting Jellica Burke and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Innes faces a further charge of raping another child, aged seven. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The 52-year-old has lodged a special defense to the murder charges of the absence of responsibility and diminished responsibility,

The jury heard how the mum died of the combined effects of internal bleeding and the injuries to her head.

The pair were found buried under his kitchen floor 

The toddler was asphyxiated by means unknown and a post-mortem examination revealed there had been pressure on the girl's mouth and neck. Innes is said to have wrapped a rubble bag, blanket, and tarpaulin around the head of Ms. Burke and hid her beneath the kitchen floor.

He also put the body of the two-year-old under the floor.

In the joint minutes read to the jury, they were told a swab of the girl revealed she had chlamydia trachiotimus and in a separate urine test of the accused, he also tested positive for the infection.

Innes, who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2021, was also diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Judge Lord Beckett told the jury the trial is expected to last into next week.

And he warned them: "From this moment until the end of the trial, you must not make any outside investigations or inquires of your own about this case, the people involved in it, or any issue it raises."

The trial continues.

Antony Thrower